Diseño e implementación de un sistema modular y configurable para la captación de distintas señales bioeléctricas

Nowadays the study and acquisition of bioelectric signalshas wide applicability in the field of medical diagnosis. In the course of Bioelectronic of the Degree in Electronic and Automation Engineering, the students design and develop in a PC board conditioning systems for different bioelectric signals, such as electrocardiogram, electromyogram, electrooculogram and electrogastrogram. It has identified the need for a modular and configurable system that allows students to check their designs. Specifically in this work the student will design, simulate and implement PCB the different stages of the mentioned conditioning system. The system should be versatile, facilitating the connection and disconnection of each stage, and offering the possibility of changing the incomes and cutoff frequencies of the stages. It should be also programmed an user interface into the LabVIEW environment for the acquisition, display and storage of the output signals. The student will write a user manual.El estudio y captación de las señales bioeléctricas tiene hoy en día una gran aplicabilidad en el campo del diagnóstico médico. En la asignatura de Bioelectrónica de la titulación de Grado en Ingeniería Electrónica y Automática, los alumnos diseñan y montan en placa de prototipado diferentes sistemas de acondicionamiento de señales bioeléctricas, como el electrocardiograma, el electromiograma, el electrooculograma y el electrogastrograma. Se ha detectado la necesidad de un sistema modular y configurable que permita a los alumnos la comprobación de sus diseños. Concretamente en el presente trabajo el alumno diseñará, simulará e implementará en PCB las diferentes etapas que constituyen los sistemas de acondicionamiento mencionados. El sistema será versátil facilitando la conexión y desconexión de cada etapa, y ofreciendo la posibilidad de modificar ganancias y frecuencias de corte de las etapas. Asimismo, se programará en el entorno labview la adquisición, visualización y almacenamiento de la señal de salida. El alumno redactará un manual de usuario.Terrés Haro, JM. (2016). Diseño e implementación de un sistema modular y configurable para la captación de distintas señales bioeléctricas. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/75625TFG

The first time on the other side: PhD candidates experience in digital electronics practical sessions and final project

[EN] The university Lecturer Training Fellowship granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education implies the participation of the PhD candidates in the practical lessons of subjects related to their specialty. For the first time, two students were assigned to the high performance group in Digital Electronics in the Industrial Electronics and Automation degree, taught in the School of Design Engineering (ETSID) of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). Taking advantage of the PhD candidates¿ easiness for comprehending the student¿s point of view, they were allowed to suggest and implement methodological modifications with the aim of improving the knowledge and skill transfer in the subject field. The main result was the development of a methodology which relates the practical and theoretical parts so they are interleaved, making it easier to comprehend, assimilate the concepts, and participate actively in the practical part gaining experience in the field. The subject is divided in three main parts: VHDL, microcontrollers and a final project. One of the PhD students was assigned to the VHDL part, the other one to the microcontroller part, and the final project was collaborative, with both participating in the organization and evaluation. This final project evaluates the innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship transversal skills of the students by entrusting them to develop a microcontroller code and to write the documentation about it, while participating in a car-like robot competition. This year, the competition was presented as a list of requirements the robots must meet before the deadline to access the ¿final test¿, in a way that was first implemented by the successful aerospace company SpaceX for the international Hyperloop Pod Competition series. This makes the deadlines and evaluation items very clear for both students and evaluators while leaving the door open to different ways of implementation using the knowledge acquired through the semester. This paper presents the thought process behind the methodology used during the subject and final project and the results obtained, alongside with the experience reported by both students and PhD intraining candidates.Terrés-Haro, JM.; Monreal-Trigo, J.; Ibáñez Civera, FJ.; Gil Sánchez, L.; Garcia-Breijo, E.; Laguarda-Miro, N. (2020). The first time on the other side: PhD candidates experience in digital electronics practical sessions and final project. IATED. 3845-3850. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1284S3845385

Redesigning seminars in the subject sustainable development and environmental ethics for the new on-line higher education scenario due to COVID-19

[EN] Covid-19 has changed the global agenda this year 2020 and particularly since March when the disease disseminated and affected the whole world. Then, confinement strategies started in most of the countries affecting important humankind aspects such as economy, society, and many others. In an educational point of view, higher education has been suddenly forced to change from a traditional presential education structure to a non-presential learning-teaching framework based on virtual/on-line educational strategies. Particular efforts have been done at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and in its Design Engineering School (ETSID) to adapt their educational model to this unexpected situation. This paper shows the work conducted to redesign seminars in the subject Sustainable Development and Environmental Ethics according to the requirements of this new scenario. A preliminary SWOT analysis allowed to focus our redesigning efforts in specific aspects of the seminar: assuming the nonpresential scenario and adapting to this new reality, an appropriate and more effective information sharing, some visual aspects associated to the specific teamworking dynamics in the classroom, structure and seminar schedule were some of the aspects to be on in the redesigning process. Students¿ opinions and point of view were particularly considered in redesigning as they are intensively experiencing on-line education since confinement started. Finally, structure, tasks, schedule, attendance, results compilation and sharing, and assessment were completely reconsidered and adapted. After this season¿s experience, development, results and students¿ feedback have been studied in depth. As a conclusion, the new redesigned seminar rises as a successful improved version of the activity being more dynamic, participative, and educationally functional. Although, there are important aspects that have been lost because they are linked to presential attendance and real teamworking in the classroom. Further efforts will be focused in diminishing these disadvantages.Laguarda-Miro, N.; Ibáñez Civera, FJ.; Gil Sánchez, L.; Garcia-Breijo, E.; Monreal-Trigo, J.; Terrés-Haro, JM. (2021). Redesigning seminars in the subject sustainable development and environmental ethics for the new on-line higher education scenario due to COVID-19. IATED. 5455-5460. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2021.1107S5455546

ON-LINE PRACTICES IN DIGITAL ELECTRONICS: THE REMOTELAB EXPERIENCE

[EN] Higher Education is given on-line since COVID-19 appeared and disseminated all over the world. Both students and teachers had little time to adapt to new learning-teaching applications and tools such as TEAMS or ZOOM. Subsequently, learning methodologies were also redesigned to be effective in a ¿non-presential¿ scenario that is mainly aseptic and depersonalized. When the state of emergency and confinement were over, the University had to reinvent educational methodologies. Then, new educational terms and expressions appeared in Higher Education and particularly in Engineering careers. Terms such as ¿partial attendance¿, ¿synchronous and asynchronous sessions¿ are nowadays present in our course guidelines but also in an unstable scenario in which higher education strategies are changing by the day. In this scenario, theory lessons have been easy to adapt to on-line education. In the same way, tutorials have become more fluid and flexible with this new system. On the other hand, difficulties to achieve an objective evaluation and conducting useful practice sessions are some of the identified weaknesses of the system. This paper focuses on these aspects studying the development of practices by local or on-line simulators and even by remote laboratories. A specific practice prototype is introduced, allowing ¿partial attendance¿ of the students, a part of them in-situ in the laboratory and another part attending the practice on-line by remote access to the practice board. This proposal lets us develop real practices with no need of synchronous assistance from the teachers by using a remote system and monitoring its development by webcamIbáñez Civera, FJ.; Laguarda-Miro, N.; Gil Sánchez, L.; Terrés-Haro, JM.; Monreal-Trigo, J.; Olguín Pinatti, CA. (2021). ON-LINE PRACTICES IN DIGITAL ELECTRONICS: THE REMOTELAB EXPERIENCE. IATED Academy. 5406-5411. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2021.1100S5406541

The interview as a learning tool: an experience of emotional motivation in engineering degrees

[EN] Technical studies in Higher Education have traditionally been seen as complex, difficult and abstract by students, and particularly when compared to university careers in the field of humanities, more related to social and human aspects. In the line of innovating in the field of engineering teaching, and with the intention of bringing engineering and learning strategies based on the social, this paper presents an experience of motivation and emotional bonding of students with their degrees in the field of industrial and aeronautical engineering. In this experience, the interview has been used as an educational tool. So, it has been applied to a very specific topic (sustainability and development in the industrial age) of the subject Sustainable Development and Environmental Ethics, included in the program of all the degrees at the School of Design Engineering of the Universitat Politècnica del València. The experience consisted in interviewing a family member or close person who had lived the industrialization age in the Spanish countryside, in order to enrichen the contents given at class with the personal experience of the interviewed relative. As a result, the experience is considered very satisfactory by the students as it allows them to reinforce the knowledge acquired in in the classroom being able to link theory to the personal experiences by people close to them who had the chance to experience the emergence of industrialization in the Spanish countryside. Thus, the interview provides students an emotional bond with the matter they are studying, achieving at least three main objectives, as the experience: 1) lets the students know about real experiences by relatives or close people in the industrialization age in Spain, 2) facilitates the contextualization of the matter in this specific historical period and 3) motivates the students to the subject and their careers.Laguarda-Miro, N.; Terrés-Haro, JM.; Monreal-Trigo, J.; Ibáñez Civera, FJ.; Gil Sánchez, L.; Olguín Pinatti, CA. (2020). The interview as a learning tool: an experience of emotional motivation in engineering degrees. IATED. 3938-3942. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2020.1092S3938394

Linking academic and labor training in finalist graduacte subjects: a strategy to improve students transversal competences

[EN] In the current presentation we propose the integration of training for employment in the last subjects of university degrees. Specifically, for this case, contents and activities of the elective subject ¿Organic Electronic and Processes in Electronic Design¿ are reformulated. This subject is included in the Degree in Industrial Electronics and Automation at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV). The aim of this proposal is to include training for employment (or external practices) and how to deal with the initial contacts with the destination work centre.Ibáñez Civera, FJ.; Laguarda-Miro, N.; Gil Sánchez, L.; Garcia-Breijo, E.; Olguín Pinatti, CA.; Monreal-Trigo, J.; Terrés-Haro, JM. (2019). Linking academic and labor training in finalist graduacte subjects: a strategy to improve students transversal competences. IATED. 3809-3812. https://doi.org/10.21125/inted.2019.0966S3809381

Optogenetic Stimulation Array for Confocal Microscopy Fast Transient Monitoring

[EN] Optogenetics is an emerging discipline with multiple applications in neuroscience, allowing to study neuronal pathways or serving for therapeutic applications such as in the treatment of anxiety disorder, autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), or Parkinson's disease. More recently optogenetics is opening its way also to stem cell-based therapeutic applications for neuronal regeneration after stroke or spinal cord injury. The results of optogenetic stimulation are usually evaluated by immunofluorescence or flow cytometry, and the observation of transient responses after stimulation, as in cardiac electrophysiology studies, by optical microscopy. However, certain phenomena, such as the ultra-fast calcium waves acquisition upon simultaneous optogenetics, are beyond the scope of current instrumentation, since they require higher image resolution in real-time, employing for instance time-lapse confocal microscopy. Therefore, in this work, an optogenetic stimulation matrix controllable from a graphical user interface has been developed for its use with a standard 24-well plate for an inverted confocal microscope use and validated by using a photoactivable adenyl cyclase (bPAC) overexpressed in rat fetal cortical neurons and the consequent calcium waves propagation upon 100 ms pulsed blue light stimulation.This work was supported in part by MCIN/AEI//10.13039/5011000110-33 under Grants PID2021-126304OB-C44 and PID2021-124359OB-I00, in part by the ERDF A Way of Making Europe, and in part by under Fet Open Program under Project 964562 H2020. The work of Beatriz Martinez-Rojas was supported by the Conselleria de Educacion, Investigacion, Cultura y Deporte de la Generalitat Valenciana and the European Social Fundation under Grant ACIF/2019/120. The work of Javier Monreal-Trigo andJose Manuel Terres-Haro was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science,Innovation, and Universities for their Doctoral under Grants FPU17/03239 and FPU17/03800.Monreal-Trigo, J.; Terrés-Haro, JM.; Martínez-Rojas, B.; Sánchez-Martín, MDM.; Giraldo-Reboloso, E.; Moreno Manzano, V.; Alcañiz Fillol, M. (2022). Optogenetic Stimulation Array for Confocal Microscopy Fast Transient Monitoring. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems. 16(6):1397-1405. https://doi.org/10.1109/TBCAS.2022.32265581397140516

Janus Gold Nanostars-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for NIR-Light-Triggered Drug Delivery

"This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Hernández Montoto, Andy, Antoni Llopis-Lorente, Mónica Gorbe, José M. Terrés, Roberto Cao Milán, Borja Díaz de Greñu, María Alfonso, et al. 2019. Janus Gold Nanostars Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for NIR-Light-Triggered Drug Delivery. Chemistry A European Journal 25 (36). Wiley: 8471 78. doi:10.1002/chem.201900750, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201900750. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving."[EN] Janus gold nanostar-mesoporous silica nanoparticle (AuNSt-MSNP) nanodevices able to release an entrapped payload upon irradiation with near infrared (NIR) light were prepared and characterized. The AuNSt surface was functionalized with a thiolated photolabile molecule (5), whereas the mesoporous silica face was loaded with a model drug (doxorubicin) and capped with proton-responsive benzimidazole-beta-cyclodextrin supramolecular gatekeepers (N 1). Upon irradiation with NIR-light, the photolabile compound 5 photodissociated, resulting in the formation of succinic acid, which induced the opening of the gatekeeper and cargo delivery. In the overall mechanism, the gold surface acts as a photochemical transducer capable of transforming the NIR-light input into a chemical messenger (succinic acid) that opens the supramolecular nanovalve. The prepared hybrid nanoparticles were non-cytotoxic to HeLa cells, until they were irradiated with a NIR laser, which led to intracellular doxorubicin release and hyperthermia. This induced a remarkable reduction in HeLa cells viability.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Government [Projects MAT2015-64139-C4-1-R, AGL2015-70235-C2-2-R and SAF2017-84689-R (MINECO/AEI/FEDER, UE)], the Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEO2018/024) and European Union (Erasmus Mundus Programme, Action 2, grant agreement number 2014-0870/001001). A.H. thanks the Erasmus Mundus Programme for his PhD scholarship through the EuroInkaNet project. A.L.-L. thanks "La Caixa" Banking Foundation for his PhD scholarship.Hernández-Montoto, A.; Llopis-Lorente, A.; Gorbe, M.; Terrés-Haro, JM.; Cao Milán, R.; Díaz De Greñu-Puertas, B.; Alfonso-Navarro, M.... (2019). Janus Gold Nanostars-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for NIR-Light-Triggered Drug Delivery. Chemistry - A European Journal. 25(36):8471-8478. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201900750S847184782536Yang, P., Gai, S., & Lin, J. (2012). Functionalized mesoporous silica materials for controlled drug delivery. Chemical Society Reviews, 41(9), 3679. doi:10.1039/c2cs15308dSancenón, F., Pascual, L., Oroval, M., Aznar, E., & Martínez-Máñez, R. (2015). Gated Silica Mesoporous Materials in Sensing Applications. ChemistryOpen, 4(4), 418-437. doi:10.1002/open.201500053Giménez, C., Climent, E., Aznar, E., Martínez-Máñez, R., Sancenón, F., Marcos, M. D., … Rurack, K. (2014). Towards Chemical Communication between Gated Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, n/a-n/a. doi:10.1002/anie.201405580Giménez, C., Climent, E., Aznar, E., Martínez-Máñez, R., Sancenón, F., Marcos, M. D., … Rurack, K. (2014). Über den chemischen Informationsaustausch zwischen gesteuerten Nanopartikeln. Angewandte Chemie, 126(46), 12838-12843. doi:10.1002/ange.201405580Llopis-Lorente, A., Díez, P., Sánchez, A., Marcos, M. D., Sancenón, F., Martínez-Ruiz, P., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2017). Interactive models of communication at the nanoscale using nanoparticles that talk to one another. Nature Communications, 8(1). doi:10.1038/ncomms15511Song, N., & Yang, Y.-W. (2015). Molecular and supramolecular switches on mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Chemical Society Reviews, 44(11), 3474-3504. doi:10.1039/c5cs00243eAznar, E., Oroval, M., Pascual, L., Murguía, J. R., Martínez-Máñez, R., & Sancenón, F. (2016). Gated Materials for On-Command Release of Guest Molecules. Chemical Reviews, 116(2), 561-718. doi:10.1021/acs.chemrev.5b00456Koutsopoulos, S. (2012). Molecular fabrications of smart nanobiomaterials and applications in personalized medicine. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews, 64(13), 1459-1476. doi:10.1016/j.addr.2012.08.002Bao, G., Mitragotri, S., & Tong, S. (2013). Multifunctional Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery and Molecular Imaging. Annual Review of Biomedical Engineering, 15(1), 253-282. doi:10.1146/annurev-bioeng-071812-152409Hernández Montoto, A., Montes, R., Samadi, A., Gorbe, M., Terrés, J. M., Cao-Milán, R., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2018). Gold Nanostars Coated with Mesoporous Silica Are Effective and Nontoxic Photothermal Agents Capable of Gate Keeping and Laser-Induced Drug Release. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10(33), 27644-27656. doi:10.1021/acsami.8b08395De la Torre, C., Domínguez-Berrocal, L., Murguía, J. R., Marcos, M. D., Martínez-Máñez, R., Bravo, J., & Sancenón, F. (2018). ϵ -Polylysine-Capped Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles as Carrier of the C 9h Peptide to Induce Apoptosis in Cancer Cells. Chemistry - A European Journal, 24(8), 1890-1897. doi:10.1002/chem.201704161Teruel, A. H., Pérez-Esteve, É., González-Álvarez, I., González-Álvarez, M., Costero, A. M., Ferri, D., … Sancenón, F. (2018). Smart gated magnetic silica mesoporous particles for targeted colon drug delivery: New approaches for inflammatory bowel diseases treatment. Journal of Controlled Release, 281, 58-69. doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2018.05.007García-Fernández, A., García-Laínez, G., Ferrándiz, M. L., Aznar, E., Sancenón, F., Alcaraz, M. J., … Orzáez, M. (2017). Targeting inflammasome by the inhibition of caspase-1 activity using capped mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Journal of Controlled Release, 248, 60-70. doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2017.01.002Rastogi, S. K., Anderson, H. E., Lamas, J., Barret, S., Cantu, T., Zauscher, S., … Betancourt, T. (2017). Enhanced Release of Molecules upon Ultraviolet (UV) Light Irradiation from Photoresponsive Hydrogels Prepared from Bifunctional Azobenzene and Four-Arm Poly(ethylene glycol). ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10(36), 30071-30080. doi:10.1021/acsami.6b16183Martínez-Carmona, M., Lozano, D., Baeza, A., Colilla, M., & Vallet-Regí, M. (2017). 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A magnetic mesoporous silica nanoparticle-based drug delivery system for photosensitive cooperative treatment of cancer with a mesopore-capping agent and mesopore-loaded drug. Nanoscale, 5(4), 1544. doi:10.1039/c2nr33417hIbsen, S., Zahavy, E., Wrasdilo, W., Berns, M., Chan, M., & Esener, S. (2010). A Novel Doxorubicin Prodrug with Controllable Photolysis Activation for Cancer Chemotherapy. Pharmaceutical Research, 27(9), 1848-1860. doi:10.1007/s11095-010-0183-xPatchornik, A., Amit, B., & Woodward, R. B. (1970). Photosensitive protecting groups. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 92(21), 6333-6335. doi:10.1021/ja00724a041Amit, B., Zehavi, U., & Patchornik, A. (1974). Photosensitive protecting groups of amino sugars and their use in glycoside synthesis. 2-Nitrobenzyloxycarbonylamino and 6-nitroveratryloxycarbonylamino derivatives. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 39(2), 192-196. doi:10.1021/jo00916a015Bai, X., Li, Z., Jockusch, S., Turro, N. J., & Ju, J. (2003). 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Anticancer Drug Release from a Mesoporous Silica Based Nanophotocage Regulated by Either a One- or Two-Photon Process. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 132(31), 10645-10647. doi:10.1021/ja103415tAujard, I., Benbrahim, C., Gouget, M., Ruel, O., Baudin, J.-B., Neveu, P., & Jullien, L. (2006). o-Nitrobenzyl Photolabile Protecting Groups with Red-Shifted Absorption: Syntheses and Uncaging Cross-Sections for One- and Two-Photon Excitation. Chemistry - A European Journal, 12(26), 6865-6879. doi:10.1002/chem.200501393Zhao, J., Gover, T. D., Muralidharan, S., Auston, D. A., Weinreich, D., & Kao, J. P. Y. (2006). Caged Vanilloid Ligands for Activation of TRPV1 Receptors by 1- and 2-Photon Excitation†. Biochemistry, 45(15), 4915-4926. doi:10.1021/bi052082fCohanoschi, I., & Hernández, F. E. (2005). Surface Plasmon Enhancement of Two- and Three-Photon Absorption of Hoechst 33 258 Dye in Activated Gold Colloid Solution. 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Journal of Materials Chemistry B, 5(33), 6734-6739. doi:10.1039/c7tb02045gLlopis-Lorente, A., Díez, P., de la Torre, C., Sánchez, A., Sancenón, F., Aznar, E., … Villalonga, R. (2017). Enzyme-Controlled Nanodevice for Acetylcholine-Triggered Cargo Delivery Based on Janus Au-Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles. Chemistry - A European Journal, 23(18), 4276-4281. doi:10.1002/chem.201700603Llopis-Lorente, A., de Luis, B., García-Fernández, A., Jimenez-Falcao, S., Orzáez, M., Sancenón, F., … Martínez-Máñez, R. (2018). Hybrid Mesoporous Nanocarriers Act by Processing Logic Tasks: Toward the Design of Nanobots Capable of Reading Information from the Environment. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 10(31), 26494-26500. doi:10.1021/acsami.8b05920Trigari, S., Rindi, A., Margheri, G., Sottini, S., Dellepiane, G., & Giorgetti, E. (2011). Synthesis and modelling of gold nanostars with tunable morphology and extinction spectrum. 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D., Martínez-Máñez, R., Sancenón, F., Soto, J., Amorós, P., & Guillem, C. (2009). pH- and Photo-Switched Release of Guest Molecules from Mesoporous Silica Supports. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 131(19), 6833-6843. doi:10.1021/ja810011pKlán, P., Šolomek, T., Bochet, C. G., Blanc, A., Givens, R., Rubina, M., … Wirz, J. (2012). Photoremovable Protecting Groups in Chemistry and Biology: Reaction Mechanisms and Efficacy. Chemical Reviews, 113(1), 119-191. doi:10.1021/cr300177kRittikulsittichai, S., Park, C. S., Marquez, M. D., Jamison, A. C., Frank, T., Wu, C.-H., … Lee, T. R. (2018). Inhibiting Reductive Elimination as an Intramolecular Disulfide Dramatically Enhances the Thermal Stability of SAMs on Gold Derived from Bidentate Adsorbents. Langmuir, 34(23), 6645-6652. doi:10.1021/acs.langmuir.7b0397

Gold Nanostars Coated with Mesoporous Silica Are Effective and Nontoxic Photothermal Agents Capable of Gate Keeping and Laser Induced Drug Release

[EN] Herein, a novel drug photorelease system based on gold nanostars (AuNSts), coated with a mesoporous silica shell and capped with paraffin as thermosensitive molecular gate, is reported. Direct measurements of the surface temperature of a single gold nanostar irradiated using a tightly focused laser beam are performed via a heat sensitive biological matrix. The surface temperature of a AuNSt increases by hundreds of degrees (degrees C) even at low laser powers. AuNSts coated with a mesoporous silica shell using a surfactant-templated synthesis are used as chemotherapeutic nanocarriers. Synthetic parameters are optimized to d avoid AuNSt reshaping, and thus to obtain nanoparticles with suitable and stable plasmonic properties for near-infrared (NIR) laser-triggered cargo delivery. The mesoporous silica-coated nanostars are loaded with doxorubicin (Dox) and coated with octadecyltrimethoxysilane and the paraffin heneicosane. The paraffin molecules formed a hydrophobic layer that blocks the pores, impeding the release of the cargo. This hybrid nanosystem exhibits a well-defined photodelivery profile using NIR radiation, even at low power density, whereas the nonirradiated sample shows a negligible payload release. Dox-loaded nanoparticles displayed no cytotoxicity toward HeLa cells, until they are irradiated with 808 nm laser, provoking paraffin melting and drug release. Hence, these novel, functional, and biocompatible nanoparticles display adequate plasmonic properties for NIR-triggered drug photorelease applications.The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Spanish Government (Projects AGL2015-70235-C2-2-R and MAT2015-64139-C4-1-R), the Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEOII/2014/047), and European Union (Programme European Union Action 2 Erasmus Mundus Partnerships, Grant-2014-0870/001-001). A. Samadi and L. B. Oddershede acknowledge financial support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF14OC0011361) and from the Danish National Research Foundation (DNRF116). A. H. Montoto thanks Erasmus Mundus Programme for his PhD scholarship at EurolnkaNet project. The authors thank UPV electron microscopy and CIPF confocal and electron microscopy services for technical support.Hernández-Montoto, A.; Montes-Robles, R.; Samadi, A.; Gorbe, M.; Terrés-Haro, JM.; Cao Milán, R.; Aznar, E.... (2018). Gold Nanostars Coated with Mesoporous Silica Are Effective and Nontoxic Photothermal Agents Capable of Gate Keeping and Laser Induced Drug Release. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. 10(33):27644-27656. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.8b08395S2764427656103

Diseño y desarrollo de un equipo de laboratorio para hipertermia óptica con posicionamiento de muestra o interfaz gráfica de usuario

[ES] La hipertermia óptica se postula como una nueva forma de tratar los procesos tumorales. Mediante el uso de un haz de luz láser y nanopartículas metálicas, diseñadas específicamente para que la resonancia de plasmón de superficie se encuentre en la longitud de onda de dicho láser, se logra un aumento de temperatura tanto en la superficie como en el entorno de estas nanopartículas. Este aumento de temperatura se puede usar directamente para atacar el tejido enfermo, que resultará dañado, no así como el tejido sano, que acumula una menor concentración de nanopartículas y es capaz de disipar mejor el calor generado y asimilar los posibles daños. Otra técnica complementaria es el uso de nanopartículas funcionalizadas y cargadas con fármacos, que son liberados en el momento de la irradiación, aumentando la eficacia del tratamiento. Sin embargo, antes de poder utilizar estas técnicas en la práctica clínica hay muchos interrogantes e inconvenientes que deben resolverse, por ello, se encuentran actualmente en fases de experimentación preclínica. En el Instituto Interuniversitario de Investigación de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM) se realizan experimentos in vitro con células y nanopartículas de oro para determinar la toxicidad de estos tratamientos. El IDM dispone de un equipo que no se diseñó inicialmente con un propósito tan amplio, y por ello ha surgido la necesidad de renovarlo. El objetivo del presente trabajo es desarrollar un nuevo equipo basado en los requerimientos que los investigadores han puesto en conocimiento del Instituto, para realizar experimentos de hipertermia óptica con una mayor facilidad y control sobre algunas de las variables que afectan a los resultados obtenidos. Para ello, se divide el trabajo en tres partes fundamentales: sistema electrónico de control de las variables del experimento, sistema electromecánico de posicionamiento de muestras, e interfaz gráfica de usuario. La novedad aportada se basa en la integración de todos los sistemas en un único equipo, el posicionamiento de muestras y la comodidad del uso de una interfaz gráfica. Se le ha dado al diseño un carácter escalable y fácilmente adaptable a los siguientes niveles de investigación clínica. Para finalizar, se ha realizado una demostración del posicionamiento de muestras y la irradiación de nanopartículas de oro en un medio acuoso, obteniendo el calentamiento del medio.[EN] Optical hyperthermia as a new treatment for tumour processes is postulated. Using a laser beam and metal nanoparticles, specifically designed so the surface plasmon resonance is in the wavelength of the laser, a temperature increment in the surface and in the environment of the nanoparticles is achieved. This temperature increment can be directly used to treat the diseased tissue, which will result damaged while keeping the healthy tissue safe, since the healthy tissue accumulates a smaller concentration of nanoparticles and it is capable of dissipating the generated heat and assimilating the possible damage. Another complementary technique is to use functionalized nanoparticles, charged with drugs that will be released in the moment of irradiation, increasing the treatment efficacy. Notwithstanding, before these techniques could be used in the clinical practice, there are some questions and obstacles that must be resolved, that is why they are in a preclinical experimentation phase. The Interuniversitary Institute of Molecular Recognition and Technological Development (IDM) is experimenting in vitro with cells and gold nanoparticles to determine the toxicity of this treatment. The IDM has an apparatus that was not initially designed with such a broad purpose, and the need of renovating it has arised. The objective of the present work is to develop a new equipment based on the requirements that the investigators have put in knowledge of the Institute, to experiment with optical hyperthermia in an easier way, with a better control over the variables that affect the results. For this, the work is divided into three essential parts: experiment variables electronic control system, electromechanical sample positioning system, and graphical user interface. The novelty contributed is the integration of each system into one unique apparatus, the sample positioning and the ease of use of a graphical interface. This is done with a scalable design, that could be easily adapted to the next levels of clinical investigation. Finally, a demonstration of sample positioning and the irradiation of gold nanoparticles in aqueous medium have been done, achieving the medium heating.Terrés Haro, JM. (2018). Diseño y desarrollo de un equipo de laboratorio para hipertermia óptica con posicionamiento de muestra o interfaz gráfica de usuario. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/109217TFG